Striped Flowers 311 



striped flowers are introduced. In the follow- 

 ing discussion it will be found most convenient 

 to give a summary of what is known concerning 

 them, and follow this by a consideration of the 

 detailed evidence obtained experimentally 

 which supports the usage cited. 



The striped variety of the larkspur of our 

 gardens is known to produce monochromatic 

 flowers, in addition to striped ones. They may 

 be borne by the same racemes, or on different 

 branches, or some seedlings from the same 

 parent-plant may bear monochromatic flow- 

 ers while others may be striped. Such devia- 

 tions are usually called sports. But they occur 

 yearly and regularly and may be observed when 

 the cultures are large enough. Such a variety 

 I shall call '' ever-sporting." 



The striped larkspur is one of the oldest gar- 

 den varieties. It has kept its capacity of 

 sporting through centuries, and therefore may 

 in some sense be said to be quite stable. Its 

 changes are limited to a rather narrow circle, 

 and this circle is as constant as the peculiari- 

 ties of any other constant species or variety. 

 But within this circle it is always changing, 

 from small stripes to broad streaks, and from 

 them to pure colors. Here the variability is a 

 thing of absolute constancy, while the constancy 

 consists in eternal changes! Such apparent 



